Car-coupling



( Model.) Q

A. H. BEZZO.

GAR COUPLING.

No. 563,735. I Patented July 14, 1896.

I I I i dresses UNTTED STATES PATENT EErcE,

ANDREV HENRY BEZZO, OF TOONE, TENNESSEE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming'part of Letters Patent No. 563,735, dated July 14, 1896.

Application filed April 17, 1896. Serial No, 5 87,963. {No de To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ANDREW HENRY BEZZo, a citizen of the United States, residing at Toone, in the county of Hardeman and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Car-Coupling, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in car-couplings.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of car-couplings and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient one, capable of coupling automatically and adapted to be readily uncoupled.

A further object of the invention is to proride a car-coupling which, in event of the derailment of a car, will automatically uncouple the same to prevent one car from dragging another off the track and wrecking the train.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts herein after fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claim hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a car-couplin g constructed in accordance with this invention and shown applied to a car. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional View of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective View of the couplingdink. Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the jaws or sections of the draw-head.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all'the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a ear-co upler comprising a body portion which is mounted on a car 2 in the usual manner, and a pair of oppositely-disposed spring-actuated sections or jaws 4, hinged to the body portion 3 and arranged to swing laterally in opening and closing. The jaws or sections a, which are engaged by exteriorly-arranged springs 5, are provided with slotted shanks 6, fitting in recesses 7 at opposite'sidcs of the body portion 3 of the drawhead and receiving vertical pivot-pins 8, and the slots 9 of the shanks permit a limited longitudinal movement of the spring-actuated jaws or sections to relieve the pins of strain and prevent them from being bent or otherwise injured when cars come together in coupling.

The front ends or faces of the jaws or sections 4 are flared to direct a coupling-link 11 between them, and they are provided with opposite notches 12, forming a throat or opening for the reception of the shank of the coupling-link.

' The coupling-link consists of a rounded shank and a pair of conical heads 13, which are received in substantially rectangular recesses 1% of the jaws or sections at, which recesses are nearer the outer faces of the jaws than the slots 9 of the shanks, and the bases or inner faces of the conical heads of the links are slightly out out or concave in order to en.- gage the front walls of the recesses ll at the bottom thereof, and at the periphery of the head of the link, whereby, when there is a strain exerted on the draw-head, incident to drawing a train of cars, the tendency of the strain will be to hold the jaws or sections together, instead of to separate them.

The springs 5,which are preferably arranged in pairs at each side of the draw-head, have their front terminals secured to the sides of the jaws or sections, and their rear terminals attached to the side faces of The bodyportion of the draw-head. They are adapted to hold the jaws normally closed, and in event of a car being derailed the jaws will be forced open against the action of the springs, to effect the operation of uncoupling automatically, both from the car behind and the car in front, to prevent one car from dragging another over an embankment, and the like, and wrecking the entire train.

The laterally-swinging jaws are connected at their outer sides to the front terminals of cables or chains 16, which have their inner or rear portions connected with and adapted to be wound around drums 17 and 18, whereby the jaws will be spread to disengage them from the coupling-link to effect the operation of uncoupling. The drums 17 an d 18 are suitably fixed to. a horizontal shaft 19, extending through a perforation of the body portion of the draw-head and ha V111 g terminals arranged in suitable slotted bearings 19, which admits of a limited movement longitudinally of the car to correspond to a like movement of the body of the draw-head when the cars are being coupled or the train starts. The said drums 17 and 18 are located at opposite sides of the draw-head, and the drum 18 is a double one, being provided with an extension 20, reoeiving a cable or chain 21, which is connected with a vertical shaft 23. The vertical shaft 23 is journaled in suitable bearings of the car, and extends to the top thereof, being provided with a suitable hand-wheel, or the like. The cable or chain 21 is arranged on the outer portion 20 of the drum 18, and is adapted, through the rotation. of the operating-shaft, to be unwound therefrom to pro duce rotation of the horizontal shaft to wind the cables or chains 16 around the drums 17 and 18 to open the jaws or sections. By this construction the operation of uncoupling may be performed when cars are stationary or in motion, and a pawl and ratchet may be provided, if desired, for looking the sections in their open position to prevent coupling.

Any suitable means may be provided for enabling the horizontal shaft to be rotated from the sides of a car or the platform of a coach.

It will be seen that the ear-coupling is simple and inexpensive in construction, that it is positive and reliable in operation, and that it is capable of coupling automatically and being readily uncoupled without necessitating a person going between cars. It will also be apparent that it may be uncoupled when cars are stationary, or in motion, and that it is capable of automatically uncoupling in event of a car being overturned or derailed.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

lVhat I claim is- In a car-coupling, the combination with a car provided with bearings, of a draw-head mounted thereon and comprising a body portion, and laterally-swinging spring-actuated jaws, a horizontal shaft passing through the draw-head and journaled in said bearings, the drums 17 and 18 located at opposite sides of the draw-head and fixed to the horizontal shaft, the drum 18 being provided with an extension or outer portion 20, a vertical operating-shaft mounted on the car, flexible connections 1 between the drums and the jaws adapted to be wound around the drums to open the j aws, and the flexible connection 21 arranged on the outer portion of the drum 1S and connected with a vertical shaft, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoiu g as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW HENRY BEZZO.

'W'itnesses .T. A. \VILsoN, J12, W. B. SAMENRIS. 

